The Philadelphia Flyers traveled up north to play the Toronto Maple Leafs in the final game of their road trip.
Flyers vs Leads recap
For Philadelphia, the team unexpectedly endured another goalie injury. Sam Ersson, who missed many games at the beginning of the season, was ruled with a lower-body injury and is day-to-day. With Aleksei Kolosov taking the start against the VGK and struggling, it’s apparent the Flyers have a pressing goalie problem. Unsurprisingly, Ivan Fedotov got the start in Toronto, but even his game isn’t the standard for an NHL goalie. He has a big body and frame, but his reaction time is his biggest downfall. This was also Fedotov’s first start in 31 days.
In Toronto, the Flyers took the lead nearing the four-minute mark of the first frame. Tyson Foerster’s powerful wrist shot went past Leafs goalie Dennis Hildeby. However, about 30 seconds later, the Maple Leafs were able to take away the Flyers’ lead, and Matthew Knies chipped the puck past Fedotov. This is a prime example of Fedotov’s slow reaction time. It was a savable goal that demanded the Flyers organization try to find an NHL-caliber goalie.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored within the final few minutes of the first frame. Fedotov was out of the crease and rolling on the ice. He could not get back, which resulted in Toronto taking a 2-1 lead.
Captain Sean Couturier had a solid feed to Scott Laughton in the second frame, who chipped the puck behind Hildeby. In all fairness to Hildeby, the goal was unpreventable with the aggressive screen in front of him. The Flyers were previously on a powerplay, generating a lot of momentum in the offensive zone. However, chip-in Laughton was able to sneak the puck right in to tie up the game again, 2-2.
Even though the Flyers and Leafs were taking a lot of shots on goal in the final frame, it wasn’t enough as both goalies were playing sharp, preventing the puck from getting in the back of the net.
Halfway through overtime, Leafs captain Auston Matthews, who recently returned, fed the puck to Morgan Rielly, who banked the puck in with a solid wrist shot. The Leafs ended up winning the contest 3-2. However, the Flyers could walk away from the game with a point. Philadelphia will have their rematch against the Leafs on home ice on Tuesday night.
After the contest, the bench boss spoke about Fedotov’s performance in the OT loss: “He was put into a tough spot tonight, which is a high mark for him. I thought he played well.” It’s clear that after the first frame, Fedotov was on his “A” game. Unfortunately, the result wasn’t what he or the team wanted, but at least the team picked up a point.
Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
